Metatarsal foot supports



April 11, 1961 w. BAUMANN 2,978,818

METATARSAL FOOT SUPPORTS Filed Sept. 17, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 11, 1961 w. BAUMANN 2,978,818

METATARSAL FOOT SUPPORTS Filed} Sept. 17, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2i United State METATARSAL FOOT SUPPORTS William Baumann, Mosbach, Baden, Germany, assignor to Flrma Bama-Werk Curt Baumann, Mosbach, Baden, Germany Filed Sept. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 761,583 Claims priority, application Germany Sept. 18, 1957 2 Claims. (Cl. 36-71) The present invention relates to footwear.

More particularly, the present invention relates to metatarsal supports which are adapted to be located in shoes either when the shoes are first manufactured or after the shoes are purchased.

Known pads of this type have several disadvantages. For example, very often they have such a high coelficient of friction that it is ditficult for the user toinsert his foot into the shoe and to remove the shoe. On the other hand, some known pads have a very low coefficient of friction, and with such pads although it is easy for the user to place his foot into and remove his foot from the shoe, there is the disadvantage that the foot continually slips in the shoe so that it is very uncomfortable to wear. This latter disadvantage is of particular significance in ladies shoes, especially those which have high heels and opentoes, because with this latter type of shoe there is a continual urging of the foot toward the front of the shoe.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a padding of the above type which is capableof overcoming the. above drawbacks by' making it. possible for the user to insert his foot into and remove his foot from the shoe with the greatest of case, while at the same time having sufiicient friction to provide the necessary retarding forcebetween the foot and the shoe which will prevent the foot from slipping undesirably in the shoe,

featureis and as has been pointed out above, this latter of great significance in ladies shoes.

It is also anobject of the present invention to provide a padding of theabove type which is of a relatively simple structure and which can be very conveniently handled when being placed into a shoe. I I A further object of the present invention is to provide a padding of the above type which'is' designed'in such a 'way that it providesthe desired cushioning at just the place where it is most needed. With' the above objects in view, the present invention includes in a shoe, or for use in a shoe, a body-of .yieldably resilient: cellular material which has a flat bottom surface and a convexly curved top face. This top face 'of the body of cellular material is covered at least along its outer periphery by a cover sheet which has a smooth top surface, and this cover'sheet is formed withan opening through which a part of the top face of the body ofcellular material isexposed...

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to'its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be rating the structure of the invention, part of this shoe being broken away to clearly illustrate the structure of the invention; a 1

resilient cushioning body of the present invention has a Fig. 6 is a top plan view themselves in the illustrated example.

irregular top. surface provided by the ribs 11a can also ice .of a structure according to the invention which differs slightly from that of Fig. 4a;

Fig. 5 shows the structure of the invention as it appears when looking toward the bottom surface thereof and before the padding of the invention is joined to a shoe; l

of another embodiment of a padding constructed according to the present invention, Fig. 6 fragmentarily showing the outline of a shoe sole to which the structure of the invention is joined; and

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the structure of Fig. 6 taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 6 in the direction of the arrows.

The most important component of the structure of the invention is a cushioning body of yieldably resilient cellular material. .This body may be made, for example, of foamrubber, although among the many materials which are suitable for use as this body are, in addition to rubber, polyvinylchloride, polyvinylacetate, polystyrene, and the like. The cells of the cellular body may either be open or closed. This cellular yieldably bottom flat face and a convexly curved top face, the latter convexly curved face being adapted to be directed toward the. foot of the wearer while the bottom fiat face is directedtoward the-sole of the shoe and is adapted to .be joined therewith by glue, for example.

onone side.

This body. of yieldably resilient cellular material is :indicated bythe reference character 11. in Figs. l-5.

Thisbod y 11 is provided at at least a portion of its top .face with raised and depressed portions in the form of ribs 11a which intersect each other in the manner shown most clearly in Fig. 3 so as to form rhombuses between Of course, the

'be provided by other means.

The top face of the body 11 is covered at least along natural leather, or the like. 'lt'is also possible for the cover sheet to be vulcanized to the body 11 rather than glued thereto. This cover sheet 12 is formed with an opening through which the ribbed portion of the top face of the body 151 is exposed, so that the cover sheet 12 is in the form of a ring whose outer periphery has the same configuration as the periphery of the body 11. It will be noted'that the convex topv surface of the latter intersects the flat bottom surface thereof so as to provide the body 11 with a sharp peripheral edge.

Theopening 12b in the cover sheet 12; has such a size and situation that it exposesa part of the top face of the body 11 in such a way that the exposed portion of the top face provides substantiallyno resistance to the .movement of the foot into or out of the shoe, while at the same time the exposed portion of the top face can cooperate with the foot of the wearer to eliminate un- 3 sult is brought about by locating the exposed part of body 11 at the final location of the ball of the foot in the shoe. Before reaching" this final location the ball .of the foot will slip along the upper smooth surface of the sheet '12. 'Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate the structure of the invention mounted in a high heel shoe and a low heel shoe, respectively. While in the illustrated example the ribs 11a are located only at the exposed portion of the top face of the body 11, these ribs could extend under cover sheet 12, if desired. in the example illustrated in Fig. 4a, the ribs 11a extend into the opening 12b but do not have a thickness greater than that of the sheet 12. On the other hand, in Fig. 4b an embodiment of the invention is shown where the ribs 11a extend outwardly beyond the sheet 12 It will be noted that in Fig. 4athe ribs 11a do not extend beyond the top surface of the sheet 12. a

The bottom face of the body 11 is provided with a I coating 13 of adhesive. This may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive which will join the body 11 .to the sole of the shoe as soon as it is pressed on to the latter. The adhesive coating 13 is covered by a thin plastic sheet 14 which must be removed before the structure of the invention is joined to a shoe, so as to expose the coating 13. If desired, the adhesive coating 13 may be of the type which requires evaporation of a solvent before the structure can be joined to the sole of the shoe, and in this case the solvent is released upon removal of the sheet i i. In order to facilitate the removal of the latter, a tab 14a is provided and extends beyond the body 11 so that the operator can easily remove the sheet. 14, this tab 14a being integral with the latter. It will be noted that the sheet '14 has the same configuration as the body. 11.

As may be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, the structure of the invention when it is joined with the shoe will coop- *erate only with the ball of the foot of the wearer, and for this purpose the body 11 is provided with a configuration which conforms to the area of contact between the ball of the foot and the sole of the shoe, this area having a substantially egg shaped configuration with a straight edge at one endwhere an end of the egg is cutoff.

In the-embodiment of the invention which isillustrated i in Figs. 6 and '7, the body 21, which corresponds to the II the embodiment of Figs. 6 and 7, the cover sheet 2 2 does .not have the configuration of a ring. -Although its outer periphery is of the same configurationas the periphery of the body 21,,this cover sheet 22is formed witha substantially triangular opening 2% located only .at the narrow end of the body 22, so that the exposed portion of It will be noted that the body 21 also'has in the shoe, nevertheless it is still easy for the user to slip his foot into and remove it from the shoe.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of padding differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in padding for shoes, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifica- .tions and structural changes may be "made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention. that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it' for various applications without omitting .features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed ,as new'and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. For use in the front part of a shoe, a metatarsal support having a bottom face and a top face, said top 'dinal axis of sufficient length to place said dome-shaped rough surface portion under the metatarsals and a transverse axis of less length than the width'of the shoein which the support .is adapted-to be placed, whereby during slipping on of theshoe the .foot will be supported .by the peripheral .smoothsurface portion .of the support and guided over said central surface portion, facilitating insertion of the 'footuinto the shoe, while during wearing or the shoetheweight of the body exerted on the foot will cause frictional engagement ..of the sole with said central rough surface portionof said support, keeping the foot in place.

Y 12. For use in the r front part of a.shoe,- alrnetatarsal I support having a fiat bottomfacezand a top. face, said top face being .convexly curved and composedof a "central dome-shaped rough surface :portion and an inclined peripheral smooth surfacerportion'rising from the periphery of said support to'said dome-shapedc'entral dough surface portion; and'said 'bottom' face having a longitudinal axis. of sufficient length to .place said domeshoe in which the support is adaptedzto'beplac'ed; and

the top face of the body 2 1 is located only at the narrow end thereof and is directed towards the rear end of the shoe-sole Zil'indicated inoutline'inFig. 6. The portion I of the top face of the body 21-which is exposed through the cut out 2211 isprovided with ribs 210 which intersect leach other in the manner shown most clearlyinFig. 6.;

.. ture of the invention with the sole of the shoe, the thickest part of the body .21 will be located directly beneath the ball-of the foot .of the wearer, andthe .rearwardly directed exposed portionof the top face of the body 21 ;;will cooperate "with thefoot to resist longitudinal slipping ,thereof in the shoe.

itgis appamntthat while the above-described structure I shaped rough surface portionlunderithenietatarsals and fa transverse axis .of'less length than the widthi'nf the a sheet covering said adhesive and'having' a tab .extending beyond said bottom face .so that the operator may engage the tab to remove said sheet from the adhesive -to expose the latter in preparation for joining said'support to a shoe at the'front part of the interior thereof, whereby during slipping on of the shoe the foot will be "supported bythe peripheral smooth surface portion of the support and guided 'over said central surface portion, facilitatinginsertion of the foot into the: shoe, while II I during wearingof the shoe the weight of thebodyex- II 1,380,504 Tusis June'7, 1921; 2,150,057 Fisch" Mar. 7, T193 9'I 2,384,481 I Margolin 'Sept. 11,1945 2,586,057 Knellwo'lf Feb. 19,1952

I I I FOREIGN PATENTS I 817,020 Germany o r. s, 1951 

